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Bressan Mastri Vinai
Winery
The Bressan Mastri Vinai Winery, located in the town of Mariano del Friuli in the Gorizia province in Friuli in northeastern Italy, dates back to the 1600s. Their vineyards are immersed in this area with an ancient Celtic heritage located in Farra d’Isonzo at the strategic intersection of ancient trade routes, where limpid horizons continue to evoke sensations, colors, scents and flavors most effectively.
Here lives the centuries-old spirit of the Bressan family. Where the slopes of the Collio region gently soften and open up onto the Isonzo River valley, in a slice of land protected to the north by the Julian Alps and open to the warm winds of the Adriatic Sea from the south, a rare mixture of natural elements (geographic, geological and climatic) have created a unique and inimitable terroir. With protection from these geographic luxuries, extreme climate conditions are avoided, and moderate weather patterns permit early development of the entire growing cycle by several days with respect to vineyards that are farther from the river, giving rise to grapes with excellent levels of maturation. Over ten generations of Bressan family dedication have gone into producing wines exclusively from grapes grown in the family’s 25 hectares of vineyard.
Current owner Fulvio Bressan carries on these solid traditions, strictly adhering to time-honored practices and a philosophy of minimal intervention. He believes in the artisan’s “artistic” sensitivity and in the tradition of his deeds, the fruit of centuries-long experience acquired in the personal cultivation of the vineyard. With these values in mind, he strives to produce wine without presumption or arrogance, while curious and attentive to the methods of the ancient science of wine-making, with a categorical refusal of modern technology.
His mission statement includes the following:
• Manual selection of the vines and preferential use of indigenous varieties
• Pruning and removal of shoots are performed exclusively by hand
• No synthetic chemical substances, respecting the vine and its natural cycles
• Exclusive use of natural fertilizers
• No Irrigation
• Manual harvest
• Fermentation exclusively with indigenous yeasts naturally present in the grape, absolutely excluding the use of synthetic industrial yeasts
• No sulfites added to the must, nor any other additives
• No biological and/or chemical aromas added.
• Maturation of the wine on its own “fine lees” up to the time of bottling
• No filtration
• Exclusive use of cork
• Manual-labeled bottles
Visit the winery at www.bressanwines.it
Wines
Verduzzo Friuliano 2006
This is a rare version of Verduzzo Friulano, as very few producers are able to make this wine dry like Bressan does. The variety actually has a significantly tannic profile and is truly a red wine in a white dress. A golden, transparent bouquet recalls apples, pears and peaches with a hint of walnut, apricot and acacia, with a medium weight mouthfeel featuring an almond aftertaste and scent of wildflowers. From 20-year-old vines harvested slightly overripe, the wine is fermented for 8 months on its lees in used French-oak barriques, then blended and preserved for another 2-3 months in stainless steel before bottling.
This is incredibly intense with aromas of candied fruit, pine, nut, resin and honey. The mouthfeel is dense and persistent and ultimately this Verduzzo Friulano drinks more like a red wine than a white.
90 points, Wine Enthusiast
Schioppettino 2005
This wine is made from 100% Ribolla Nera, also known as Schioppettino because of the varietal’s tendency to ferment explosively. Intense in its warm velvety color and flavor, this ruby red wine presents the full fruit flavor of wild blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, evolving as it matures into an elegant bouquet of underbrush, musk and aromatic wood, with a silky texture and mild tannins. The juice is macerated on the grape skins for an extensive period before being racked and fermented in stainless-steel for another 35 days, after which it is aged for at least 2 years in large oak casks.
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Pinot Nero 2003
A beauty: 20-year-old vines extract the complexity of the Bressan’s terroir in this assertive yet silky pinot noir. As the wine is lift to open up, it reveals a treasure trove of nuances including smoky wood, truffle, raspberry and wild blackberry, featuring a bouquet of underbrush and musk when mature, ruby red, dry and aromatic. The juice is macerated on the grape skins for an extensive period before being racked and fermented in stainless-steel for another 30 days, after which it is aged for at least 2 years in large oak casks.
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Pinot Nero 2004
“True jewel of the maestri of the vineyard and the wine cellar, composed exclusively of the finest selection of Pinot Nero grapes under the “maniacal” care of the Bressan family transforming them into the most prized nectar: a wine predisposed to its extended sojourn in oak casks where, while notably ageing, evolves in its characteristic organoleptic qualities towards nuances including goudron, burnt wood, truffle, raspberry and wild blackberry. When mature, it reveals an elegant, ethereal bouquet of underbrush and musk. Ruby red in colour, dry, slightly aromatic; an aristocratic wine for true connoisseurs.”
Pignol 1998
Since 1800, wine made from the indigenous varietal known as Pignol in the local dialect has been considered a luxury wine. Made from 100% Pignolo Gentile grapes (the slowest fermenting grape on earth), this wine is as difficult as any for even the best producers to work with, but it rewards the patient producer with a rare elegance. Due to Bressan’s insistence on natural methods, it takes an average of eight years in untoasted casks in order to smooth out the tannins and the acidity but results in a rich, ruby-red wine offering a delicate, fruity taste, and mysteriously silky mouthfeel. A true masterpiece. The juice is macerated on the grape skins for 30 days before being racked and fermented in stainless-steel for another 40 days, after which it is aged for three years in large oak casks and then 15 months in the bottle.
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Pignol 2000
“Pignolo, both as a wine and its vine, is quite particular. A taste which is contained yet mysterious, timid to the point of almost hesitating to reveal itself. It has a vivacious ruby red colour which fascinates the eye. Good levels of alcohol and acidity. Fruity, harmonic, elegantly bodied, delicate and softly tannic. Vinous, fruited, reserved in its perfume which slowly opens its inviting bouquet. A great wine which awaits appreciation upon discovery.”
Carat 2006
A fabulous Friulano-based wine (with 10% Malvasia and 10% Ribolla Gialla), Carat is a rich and intense wine that will certainly last another 5 to 10 years in the cellar. It’s quality is evident thanks to the velvety and rich feel the wine imparts in the mouth and its bright aromas of peach and apricot. This wine has extraordinary length on the finish too.
92 points, Wine Enthusiast
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Pinot Grigio
An aperitif which goes well with the whole range of light appetizers, soups or pasta, or with agnolotti (pasta with a vegetable filling), egg, fish, or seafood dishes.
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N3
This is a sophisticated and nicely aged blend of Schioppettino, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon with layers of black fruit, spice, leather, Spanish cedar and exotic spice. The wine is intense and long lasting and offers Bressan’s trademark flavors of freshly milled black pepper and spice.
90 points, Wine Enthusiast
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Ego
The hidden, and most real soul of a terroir is in the wine made by the native (autochtone) grapes, the ones that are possible to grow just in that region. This wine is the mute witness of a secular tradition; silent guardian of old rituals where the truth is in the eyes of whom is watching; humble custodian of a millenaries culture, a culture that teaches us that it is “where you come from that makes a difference”. From all this, EGO (ME in the old Latin) is born. It is the result of more than ten generations of Bressan wine masters, zealous custodians of the past that are keeping alive through this wine.
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